


By the Grace of Etro

by Aurya



Category: Final Fantasy XIII, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-07-11 13:54:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19929133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurya/pseuds/Aurya
Summary: In the Warren, Lightning discovers a Children of Etro cultist who shows a curious interest in the savior - for different reasons than the fanatics usually do. If Lightning would humor her, she might well be rewarded... or she might find herself neck-deep in trouble.





	By the Grace of Etro

**Author's Note:**

> How am I the only person who has used "Children of Etro" as a tag? Odd.
> 
> So, got into a conversation about my Shiva sidequest fics. My whole premise is that I don't like how Shiva just got a few token bits in XIII-2. He pointed out that Shiva being absent entirely in LR means that giving her a sidequest means -just a few token bits- and I felt like a moron. I mean, when I think about it, they only appeared in LR during the big finale, when EVERYONE had their Eidolons at their sides (except for Noel who had Brynhildr because Sazh and Dajh were busy), so I can't really accuse them of getting the poor treatment from XIII-2.
> 
> Now, that just one of my motivations for the LR sidequest. The other is that there's next to no shields as rewards; they're almost all purchased, and the ones that you DO get for free are the same stuff you can buy. Contrast that with the numerous weapons you get without spending a gil, several of which aren't part of the purchaseable hierarchy. And while I'm stewing over that, I notice that while they DID have plenty of garbs, they missed one that would go really well with a couple weapons they provided.
> 
> Two birds. One more stone.
> 
> The summary is my intention of the sidequest briefing when you're about to accept it. I would have this one become available after having completed Main Quest 1-5 (vs. Noel). There... isn't a Jessie in LR already, is there? That's just the first name I could think of off the top of my head. I tried to think of a name that wasn't taken already, so this isn't meant to indicate any existing questgivers.

Lightning could scarcely remember the last time she had the leisure to relax properly. When she had been a soldier of the Guardian Corps, burying herself in her work to try and shut off her emotions, there was nothing less useful to her than a holiday. When she had been branded a l'Cie, she and the others had spent every waking moment trying to defy their fate, one way or another. When she had arisen as Etro's champion, the armies of chaos that assaulted Valhalla required her constant vigilance. And now, as Bhunivelze's savior, she was running all over Nova Chrysalia, trying to save as many souls as possible.

When she found herself at a time where nothing she could do (least that she was aware) would do anything for anyone's souls, she found herself strolling through the Warren in Luxerion. Part of it was in the interest of completing her mission; even if there was no one to save the souls of, monsters liked to show up here, and she would that the people of Nova Chrysalia survive until the end of the world, if they could. But there was also a strange serenity here - this part of the city wasn't plagued by Bhunivelze's preachers, wasn't ringing every hour with reminders to pray, and she felt she could properly relax here.

Such, then, was her displeasure when she found someone lying in the alleyway that led to the Warren directly from North Station - someone in the robes of the Children of Etro.

After a moment, it became clear that this wasn't an ambush - and further, that the cultist didn't seem to be able to stand. Lightning approached her, and as she drew near the heretic raised her gaze. "The savior? Just my luck..."

"Are you alright?" No sooner had Lightning asked than she saw the blood on the heretic's leg and felt stupid for asking. "You're wounded."

"Yeah, I am," the cultist confirmed; and there was a strange dread in her voice. "And what a wound it is. Damned thing couldn't have taken me out quickly. Had to knock me down and leave me here." Her head fell. "It... hurts. I can't move. I can't get help. Nobody's going to lend a hand to the goddess' child. I can't do anything but wait for the end. And... and I don't want to. I don't want to die."

Lightning shook her head. "Of course you don't want to die." There was a moment's consideration before she stepped forward. "Here, let me help you."

The heretic raised her gaze. "Help me? What are you-?"

She never would have thought mundane first-aid from her Guardian Corps service, the tactics she and the others developed for the magic of a l'Cie, and the holy powers Bhunivelze granted her would have a use at the same time. Lightning managed to jury-rig a brace for the wounded leg before turning her hand towards the cultist; what healing magic she had as the savior had thus far been triggered on instinct and washed over her without prompting, but by focusing it on her target as she had the healing magic given by the power of a brand, it washed over the heretic all the same.

After a moment, she stood upright, and the cultist got to her feet. "That should last you for now," Lightning told her. "You should get some proper treatment, though."

"Why are you doing this?" the heretic asked. "Why would you help me? I heard, you charged in on the graveyard rituals and-"

"I take issue with fanatics who kill innocent victims for a passing resemblance to me," Lightning interrupted. "But I don't have anything against Etro herself."

The cultist seemed surprised. "You don't?" Then, abruptly; "Look, I only joined the Children of Etro because of the goddess. The Order of Salvation tries to... deny things. They think that just because something happens that their beliefs don't acknowledge, then whoever reports it must be deluded, or a traitor. I couldn't just bow to a faith like that."

Lightning nodded. "And you're saying the Children of Etro are more... accommodating?"

"I know it must seem hard to believe, after everything that's happened," the cultist insisted. "The Children weren't always like this. The Order forced us into hiding, but we were content to just hide. An Oracle Drive - one of the goddess' treasures. And a community that didn't treat us like dirt for not bowing to God. That was all we needed. When the signs of the end started to show, most of the members panicked. But some of us... still have reason."

"And I take it those of you with 'reason'..." Lightning began.

"We had nothing to do with the rituals," the heretic promised. "Why don't... you come see us for yourself. Come to the Shadow Hunter's old grounds."

"I wouldn't hurry right to the meeting place if I were you," Lightning reprimanded. "You should get that leg treated."

"Yes, I will," the heretic assured her. "If I'm not there to greet you, tell them that Jessie sent you."

She started to limp away, and Lightning started into the Warren; as she did, a tone rang in her ear as Hope contacted her. _"Lightning, are you sure about this? Going to the gathering place of the heretics?"_

"I'm not gonna waltz in with my guard down and my back turned, Hope," Lightning insisted. "If they're telling the truth, I have nothing to worry about, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to be careful."

* * *

There was a Chaos infusion in the Den of Shadows where Lightning had chased Noel. If she hadn't been careful as she stepped in, she was when she got a face full of Chaos; regardless of the Children's intentions, Chaos infusions bore much more powerful monsters than normal, and letting her guard down **would** end badly if one of those monster jumped her.

One of the goddess' disciples was standing at the entrance to Noel's hunting grounds - and he seemed to recognize Lightning. "You... the savior!"

"I'm not here for any trouble," Lightning assured him. "Jessie asked me to come here."

"Did she?" the disciple mused, and his stance lessened. "You'll find her at the broken Oracle Drive. She's still recovering."

He stepped aside, and Hope came in over her earpiece - flooded with the usual static of trying to talk to her through the Chaos. _"They're not even reacting to the Chaos infusion here. Why are the Children so nonchalant about this?"_

"The Chaos flooded out when Etro died," Lightning observed. "Maybe they think it puts them closer to the goddess." She glanced at the disciple who had let her in - holding one of the sickles that the Children brandished - before turning back to the task at hand. "Either way, they're still prepared to defend themselves against anything that comes out of the Chaos."

 _"As long as you're doing the same,"_ Hope insisted.

The Children were scattered throughout the Den of Shadows, but none of them raised their weapons to her; when Lightning reached the area where she had fought Noel, she found Jessie standing there. "You came," she greeted.

"Yeah, I did," Lightning confirmed. "You wanna tell me what this is about?"

"Those of us here weren't part of the sacrifices at the graveyard," Jessie explained. "But that doesn't change the fact that we were part of the same beliefs. The images in the Oracle Drive showed you trying to bring about the end of the world, and the Shadow Hunter stopping you."

"Those images-"

Jessie shook her head. "Yes, I realize that they're not concrete. The Hunter proved that himself. But when you see something prophesied for hundreds of years, it's hard to stop yourself from believing it. We understand that you're not a threat... but we can't shake those beliefs so easily."

Lightning swept at her hair. "Alright. And where do I come in?"

"You said that you didn't have anything against the goddess," Jessie mused. "If that's so... then would you be willing to partake in our initiation?"

"What?"

"It won't mean anything to Luxerion at large," Jessie insisted quickly. "They only know the Children of Etro by our robes, and whether you wear them is up to you. But if you accept the initiation, then we can be rid of our doubts. And the radicals from the graveyard rituals - the ones that managed to escape the Order's prosecution - should do the same.

Lightning contemplated for a moment; then she nodded. "Alright. What do I need to do?"

"That's easy enough," Jessie replied. "This Chaos infusion being right over here makes things easier. We have a... concoction that inhibits your body, somewhat. Take it, and strike down a monster in the Chaos. Then return here, and I'll give you something to purge the concoction from you."

"I can do that," Lightning assured her. "Do you have the concoction ready?"

Jessie handed her a wineglass filled with a bright fuchsia liquid; Lightning accepted it and drank it. In an instant did its effect course through her; she stumbled, and Jessie quickly took the glass back before she dropped it. Her entire body felt weak, defenseless, like the shield on her arm would crumple no different than cardboard.

"That's... got a hell of a kick," the savior snarked.

"I wouldn't market this to drunks," Jessie snarked back. "Get going."

* * *

**Meonekton × 1**

* * *

"One fight in the Chaos," Lightning mused as she arrived back at Jessie's location, her breath ragged from fighting so narrowly. The Chaos had lifted when she'd defeated the enemy, but that hadn't changed how her body felt about that concoction.

"Yes, just one battle is enough," Jessie confirmed. "Here."

She handed Lightning a glass of much darker liquid than before; Lightning knocked it back in an instant, and the burden that plagued her body was lifted in short order. After a moment, she handed the glass back. "What was the purpose of that?" she asked. "Fighting like..."

"Fighting on the edge of death," Jessie mused. "Fighting so close to the goddess. The initiation is to help our members appreciate how frail life should be, that we can feel closer to Etro."

"I see."

Jessie nodded. "Now, kneel." Then, when Lightning did so; "On the edge of death, you fight for your life. Feel the goddess' touch, and be reborn. Rise, daughter of the goddess. Henceforth, you are a child of Etro."

 _An appreciation for the frailty of life._ Lightning's thoughts coursed as she rose to her feet. _A more benevolent belief than anything the Order preaches. Life **should** be fragile - and should be treasured as such. Everyone's life should be held in the same measure, not just the believers._

* * *

_**QUEST COMPLETED** _

** ★ Savior's Reward **

**Gil Obtained: 1303 Gil**  
**Bracer of the Devoted × 1**  
**Daughter of Etro × 1**  
**Martyr's Mask × 1**

 **Maximum HP +150**  
**Strength +13**  
**Magic + 13**

**Author's Note:**

> There's a guy in Old Town who says he can get you into the Warren at any hour. And he CAN'T. Not even if you're chasing the Children's code and you don't have the digit in the Warren. What lazy frick half-assed that?
> 
> A lot of stuff in LR is a fade-to-black instead of showing things changing hands. Were this gameplay, the healing at the start and the concoctions in the initiation would go through that. I'm just giving them a bit of detail that wouldn't apply to the game because I'm writing this out.
> 
> So, let's be a titanic douchebag, trigger the quest in the middle of the dialogue (no accept/refuse screen), and give you a Yes/No option to heal Jessie. If you say no, she despairs and you exit the dialogue. You can talk to her again afterwards to take it back. An hour passes in-game after the quest begins, she's dead. Quest failed. And give another one when Jessie offers the initiation; you say no, a day changes, quest failed. The trial would pretty much just slash your HP to 100 points. Fight a Meonekton in the Chaos with just the Divine Wear DLC and you'll pretty much get an idea of what this is like (Yes, it would affect ALL your schemata).
> 
> [EDIT] I I have revised this garb's stats a dozen times realizing that I've misread or misremembered something, I'm not even gonna pretend to highlight what's specifically been changed.  
> The Daughter of Etro garb is the heretics' robe; I think the hood would work as one piece with the main garb instead of having to be an adornment, considering the Miqo'te Dress has ears and tail included. The default color scheme is the Luxerion fanatics' white, but you can highlight all the parts individually to get that gentle blend of the Wildlands' disciples.  
> The Martyr's Mask is an adornment of that nose-creasing mask that the fanatics wear. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you get a closeup of it when you interrupt the graveyard ritual.  
> The Bracer of the Devoted is a gauntlet with the same aesthetic as the Sickle of the Faithful and Battleaxe of the Believer. And those knives the Children leave in the savior lookalikes with the notes pinned to them.
> 
> =Daughter of Etro=  
> A balanced garb for the Children of Etro. It increases the damage done to enemies that have status ailments.  
> Maximum ATB: +10  
> Default ATB: 50%  
> {()} Saboteur Synergy [Slight increase in damage when attacking an enemy under a status ailment]  
> Δ: Heavy Slash Lv. 2  
> ▯: _____  
> O: _____  
> X: _____
> 
> =Bracer of the Devoted=  
> A gauntlet made to shield Etro's followers.  
> Maximum HP: +250  
> ATB Speed: +30  
> Guard Defense: 0  
> Strength +75  
> Magic +75  
> {()} Status Ailments Resistance +15%


End file.
